All About Jazz - C. Michael BaileyLouisiana-born guitarist and singer Tab Benoitis from so deep in the wetlands that it's almost all ocean. Hailing from Houma, the seat of Terrebonne Parish, Benoit has indisputable bayou bona fides and the exposure to that musical and cultural melting pot called the Gulf Rim that comes with it. Telarc's Legacy: The Best of Tab Benoit demonstrates his expansive musical palette and sure grasp of zydeco, creole, blues, R&B, and rock as viewed through the NOLA prism. Selected from Benoit's Telarc catalog, Legacy features 14 songs recorded over 10 years that give a fair accounting of his very fine career.

The blues is central to the Benoit aesthetic. Benoit's "Nice and Warm" is a slow blues that was almost went unrecorded. Nevertheless, this piece was the title track on Benoit's first recording for Vanguard in 1999. The guitarist explains that he had been thinking of the song during the first recording sessions and did not decide to try it out until the rest of the album was in the can. It turned out so well that it titled the album. Benoit reprised the piece with Nighthawks guitarist Jimmy Thackery on Whiskey Store (Telarc, 2002). With Reese Wynans driving the Hammond B3, "Nice and Warm" becomes appropriately greasy and soulful. Benoit provides a searing introduction before launching into his plight of being cold far from home. The band allows plenty of room for Benoit to execute his ideas, providing spot-on dynamics in one of the harder musical genres to play well. ... read more...

Album Reviews:

Living Blues (p.69) - "[A]n impressive collection that bears witness to the fact that the South Louisiana singer and guitarist is one of the most powerful electric bluesmen on the contemporary music scene."

Tab Benoit's brand of sharp Louisiana swamp blues is all his own, and for some 20 years now (his first album, Nice & Warm, was released by Vanguard Records in 1993) he's been putting it down with refreshing commitment and precision. This solid compilation is drawn from his later albums for Telarc Records (he's released ten albums for Telarc, dating back to 1998), and with tracks like the churning and chugging "Muddy Bottom Blues," a live ten-minute version of "Bayou Boogie" (a speed boogie that blazes and then flies like a tidal wave), and a subtly rewritten version of Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth" that brings it all home to Louisiana, this set makes for a great introduction to one of the best young blues players out there. ~ Steve Leggett